Lieutenant-Colonel William Henry Clement Le Hardy (c.1889 – 28 December 1961) was an English archivist.
Le Hardy was born into a family of archivists. His great-uncle, Sir Thomas Hardy and his grandfather Sir William Hardy were Deputy Keepers of the Public Records and his father William John Hardy (died 1919) was a record agent in the firm of Hardy and Page, later Hardy and Reckitt.[1][2] Hardy served in the first world war, and after his father's death in 1919 took control of the family firm, succeeding his father as editor of the calendars of the Quarter Sessions records of Hertfordshire and Middlesex, and working on those of Buckinghamshire. In 1946 Hardy became county archivist of Middlesex (three days a week) and Hertfordshire (two days a week), resigning the Middlesex post in 1956 to concentrate on Hertfordshire. "To his drive and initiative both counties owe the rapid development of their record offices on modern lines and the growth of their record holdings."[1] As a county archivist, he had the reputation of being attentive to the needs to users of the archive.[3]
Le Hardy was a founder-member of the British Records Association in 1932, serving almost continuously on its Council until his death, aged 72. Also a founder-member of the Society of Local Archivists, he was chairman of its council from 1949 to 1954, and elected a Vice-President when the Society became the Society of Archivists in 1955.[1]